Asian shares wallowed at one-month lows on Friday as investors braced for the U.S. April payrolls report after jobless claims data raised doubts over the seemingly rosy employment picture.
European shares are also set to open for lower, with financial spreadbetter IG expecting Britain's FTSE100 .FTSE to fall 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX .GDAXI to start the day down 0.4 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.9 percent, set for a weekly decline of 3.2 percent, the biggest drop in 12 weeks.
"Recent global economic data and some corporate earnings from major Western firms have been lackluster, leading to risk-off trading in markets," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.
May 6 Japanese stocks fell on Friday as caution prevailed ahead of a U.S. jobs report, while investors also worried about the impact of a strong yen on corporate profits.
The Nikkei share average declined 0.3 percent to 16,106.72 in its first day of trade following a three-day closure for national holidays. Japan's benchmark index ended the short trading week about 3.4 percent lower.
During the holiday closure, the yen climbed to a fresh 18-month high against the U.S. dollar, hurting the outlook for exporters and a broad swath of other shares that benefit from a weaker yen.
May 6 China stocks suffered their biggest one-day fall in more than two months, shedding gains from a recent rebound amid further corrections in the commodities market and fresh signs of stress with bonds.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 2.6 percent, to 3,130.35, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.8 percent, to 2,913.25 points. For the week, CSI300 dipped 0.8 percent and SSEC weakened 0.9 percent.
Friday's falls, the biggest since late February, left the indexes at 1-1/2 month closing lows
Hong Kong shares fell for the fifth day in a row on Friday, posting their biggest weekly loss in nearly three months, as the market's rebound since mid-February unravelled amid resurfacing worries about global growth.
The Hang Seng index fell 1.7 percent, to 20,109.87, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.8 percent, to 8,471.70 points.
For the week, the Hang Seng slumped 4.5 percent, its biggest loss since the week ended Feb. 12. The HSCE tumbled 5.2 percent.
Reference: Reuters
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